


Beware Agents Bearing Greek Gifts

by Linorien



Series: Q-branch Chronicles [6]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies), James Bond - All Media Types
Genre: mentions of main characters, secret santa fic exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-16 06:08:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13048089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linorien/pseuds/Linorien
Summary: The newest 00 agent has been given his hardest assignment yet: getting a secret santa gift for Felix Leiter, a foreign agent he has never met.





	Beware Agents Bearing Greek Gifts

 [](https://imgur.com/lDHeU71)

Emerson checked his email and saw he had been notified of his secret santa. Felix Leiter, CIA.

What? He didn’t know they were cross agency events now.

Hold on, another email came through. _Felix will be visiting for an interagency event so it was decided to include him in the festivities. Signed- Secret Santa Spymaster_

Emerson narrowed his eyes at his computer. He hated it when people read his mind like that. It was part of his training to be a double-oh, but it still made the hair on his neck stand up. That being said, he could use some mind reader powers right about now to figure out what gift to get a foreign agent he had never met.

Interagency event. Maybe he would be able to casually talk with Felix during this event. He pulled up the internal calendar. He looked at the events between now and December 24th. Annual holiday party- that’s when they would exchange gifts. [Gingerbread contest](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13015356)-he could’ve sworn that was only a Q branch contest. There was a slot for a lunch speaker, a monthly event. Perhaps that would be Felix, but he wasn’t sure.

Either way, that was scheduled for the 21st and Emerson didn’t expect to be in London by that time. The gift was going to be a shot in the dark. Problem was, he got the lowest sniping scores in his class.

 

The mission was a mess. He had heard from the other double-ohs that this happened, but his first mission as 002 had gone smoothly. A lucky chance meant he was done a full day earlier than predicted and Q told him to spend the extra day decompressing on the beach before flying home.

This one, on the other hand, let’s just say he would be avoiding Greece for the next six years. Too many people wanted his head and even if they did eventually find his luggage or pull the motorcycle out of the lava flow, he wouldn’t be back to claim them. He was grateful for the private security lines in the airport that meant no one asked about the dried blood on his face or his arm in a sling. He simply handed over the passport that had been waiting for him at the airport with his ticket.

He was sitting at a sports bar, mindlessly nursing a drink when his attention was caught by the TV. The announcer was talking about the last minute rush for gifts and what the most popular toys seemed to be this holiday season. Emerson’s eyes went to the date in the bottom of the screen.

The holiday party was tonight. He didn’t have a gift for Felix.

He did some quick math in his head and knew he would have no time to do shopping after his flight landed. He could only hope Felix liked Greece.

 

Six hours later, Emerson set his professionally wrapped box on the table with the other gifts. It perhaps wasn’t the greatest gift he had ever bought, but it’s the thought that counts, right?

As he ordered a drink from the bar, he wondered why he had agreed to participate in this. He was _not_ a people person. He found it hard to trust anyone. His medical file attributed it to his childhood, but Emerson thought it stemmed from not being able to read people.

Oh right, it was 003’s fault. He had appointed himself as Emerson’s big brother and had told him that participating in the secret santa exchange was a sacred tradition that could earn you good favour for the next year.

Emerson noticed that 003 was suspiciously absent. Maybe he had a mission, but Emerson assumed the bastard had lied. He could only see two other double-ohs and perhaps ten other agents tops. Mostly newer recruits like himself. Shay caught his eye and waved him over.

“You survived then?” Shay asked in greeting.

“Many thanks to Q,” Emerson replied. “And whoever it was that knew about the volcano.”

“One of the women down in auto, don’t know all their names yet. I guess she has a cousin who studies them or something like that.” They snagged some shrimp kabobs from a passing tray. “So what did you get for Felix?”

“How did you know who I was assigned?”

Shay pointed to himself proudly. “Secret santa spymaster.”

Emerson raised a brow. “How do I know that’s not just a good guess? I thought Q would organise it.”

“You don’t. But I can tell you that Q is giving a gift to the head of medical and will be receiving one from Shara. And 007 gets to give one to Miss Moneypenny. I can’t wait to see what he bought. So what did you get Felix?”

“I can’t let you have all the secrets,” Emerson responded. “You’ll just have to wait and see.” He slid another shrimp off the skewer amd into his mouth.

“Hmm. Well, it looks like everyone is here.” Shay passed off the rest of his appetizer. “Let’s not wait any longer.”

 

Emerson hardly payed attention to the other gift exchanges. His own gift was wonderful and he smiled in thanks, but Felix was up next.

The panic he had felt on the train into the city was back. It was a cheap gift. Airport tourism gift. The kind of gift you give when you forgot about someone.

Felix was an agent. He travelled plenty. He didn’t need another tacky souvenir. Was it too late to march up there and take it back? Just replace it with an Amazon gift card?

Yes. It was. Felix was opening the gift. Slowly tearing off the wrapping with an excited smile. Or maybe a smile of anticipation? Emerson couldn’t say. His own palms were sweaty and he took a long swallow of champagne.

Felix pulled out the snow globe. Seeing it now it seemed like an even worse choice. Emerson had volcanoes on the mind when he bought it, but why would anyone else want a snow globe of Vesuvius? Sure it was funny that the snow was ash and it covered the bodies on the ground and oh dear, maybe that was a bit too morbid.

Emerson watched Felix’s face hoping for a sign of enjoyment. He held up the globe and gave it a shake. The red lights on the mountain activated and, well, at least some of the audience thought it clever.

Felix turned to 007. “James, doesn’t it remind you of our mission in ‘86?”

“I’d rather not be reminded that we are that old, Felix,” 007 replied to further laughter.

“Thank you, Emerson!” Felix called as he lifted the globe one more time before putting it back in the box.

Emerson hoped that meant he liked it. But for now, he was going to skip out early on the rest of the party and escape the socialisation in favor of sleep. The adrenaline crash was hitting hard and he was becoming aware of the pulsing pain in his elbow. Time for bed indeed. Next year he would request an extended mission in December.

**Author's Note:**

> If you have not already read it, check out Jaimi's wonderful story of the gingerbread contest here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/13015356


End file.
